Envoys' political briefings debated

[sabra]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON — Political briefings given by White House aides to high-ranking U.S. diplomats "were probably inappropriate" and should stop, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Tuesday.

The comments by Sen. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana were in contrast to White House assertions that the private briefings were not unusual or improper.

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Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: "I do not understand why ambassadors, in Washington on official duty, would be briefed by White House officials on which Democratic House members are considered top targets by the GOP for defeat in 2008. Nor do I understand why department employees would need to be briefed on 'key media markets' in states that are 'competitive' for the president."

Biden, who suggested the Hatch Act may have been violated, asked Rice for more details about the political briefings.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-lugar25jul25,1,6789587.story?coll=la-headlines-nation